ALBUM REVIEW: The Orb “No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds”

The Orb “No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds”; cover art

The Orb “No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds”; cover art

The Orb are back with their excellent new album No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds (NSAOOB) released June 22, on Cooking Vinyl Records.

NSAOOB finds The Orb expanding on the minimalist sound of their previous two releases and instead bringing in a host of singers and players to create an album that harkens back to the bands’ earliest days while also managing to sound current and fresh.

Album opener “The End Of The Road” kicks things off with keyboards bubbling away and a thundering bassline all elevated with a fantastic lead vocal by Emma Gillespie…and straight off you know this is a return to the song-oriented structure that have made The Orb dancefloor superstars throughout their long and storied career.

Speaking of bass there is lots of it on NSAOOB and the very next track “I wish I had A pretty Dog” grooves along with a bass line so deep and thundering it would put a smile on King Tubby’s face, as would the trippy dub effects and samples that float along like glitter dropped from the heavens floating in and out of the mix at just the perfect moments.

Legendary former Public Image LTD. bassist Jah Wobble is joined by Roger Eno on the track “Pillow Fight At Shag Mountain”, a groovy instrumental number that might sound just as at home on the second Orb album U.F.ORB (released 1992) as it does here. And why not as Mr. Wobble also made an appearance on that album too. Here he gets the same type of spacey groove going that he is justly famous for while Roger Eno’s keyboards add a shimmer to the rootsy bottom end.

NSAOOB is a decidedly English sounding album, even more noticeable after the excellent but minimalist sound on their last two releases. It is also the most commercially accessible album (and I mean that in the very best way possible) that The Orb have released in years. So, to all the old school Orb fans out there – this is the one you’ve been waiting for, and the one you’ll be hearing on the radio and in the clubs for years. In other words, it’s a classic.

Appearing on No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds:
Youth, Thomas Felhmann. Michael Rendall, Andy Caine, Holly Cook, Emma Gillespie, Gaudi, Rev Eno, Jah Wobble, Guy Pratt, Mary Pearse, Brother Culture, Rihanna

The Orb is Alex Paterson